St. John the Baptist Parish's Planning and Zoning Commission will hold a special tonight to consider whether a Mount Airy tank farm's property should be deemed an industrial area.

The commission's decision will be forwarded to the St. John Parish Council, which will make a final decision on the designation of the $140 million Angelina Tank Farm on Tuesday.

If the tank farm, which will produce an estimated $4.5 million in sales taxes in its first 10 years of operation, becomes an industrial area, it would be exempt from the taxes of a proposed municipality supporters are trying to incorporate in rural St. John Parish.

Voters will decide on July 19 whether to incorporate Mount Airy, Garyville and portions of Reserve into a new town, to be called the Town of Garyville.

If the Parish Council decides to classify the tank farm as an industrial area, the tank farm would be exempt from municipal taxes and the proposed new town would not be able to share in the sales taxes it generates.

Owners of the tank farm, Safeland Storage LLC, requested for the land be deemed an industrial area. The tank farm would have 63 storage tanks for crude oil, petroleum products and biodiesel ingredients.

The Planning and Zoning Commission's special meeting is scheduled for 5 p.m. Monday in the Percy Hebert Building, 1801 West Airline Highway, LaPlace.